Hypothetically
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Sofia wants some advice on her Protector role, but she must be careful not to give away too much information. Therefore, she asks Cedric 'hypothetical' questions, which makes him wonder.


Hypothetically

Summary: Sofia wants some advice on her Protector role, but she must be careful not to give away too much information. Therefore, she asks Cedric 'hypothetical' questions, which makes him wonder.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Sofia the First_.

A/N: I have a feeling the time is coming when Sofia will _have_ to divulge more information about her Protector role. Let's face it. It's getting harder and harder to keep that secret. Plus, she can't do everything by herself, even though she would likely try, which does parallel her with Elena, in my opinion. 😉 So, yeah, I'm thinking we're going to see her needing help next year. Until then, here's this lovely little thing. Lol. Enjoy!

*Story*

"If I hear one more blasted Wassailia carol, I'm going to lose it," Wormwood complained as he flew in through the window, landing on his perch next to Cedric.

"Aren't you cheerful?" Cedric remarked with a smirk. He nodded toward Sofia, who was busy writing down something in a journal. "Sofia and I were just talking about going caroling ourselves."

Sofia glanced up at her friend, giving him a sarcastic smile before shaking her head and continuing her work.

"As entertaining as it would be to listen to you bellow out half-verses you've long since forgotten the words to, I think I'm going to busy myself elsewhere." He stretched his wings a bit before grinning. "I couldn't help but notice that no one was guarding the gooseberry tarts in the kitchen. Perhaps I'll start there." He then took off out the window again.

"He won't get very far," Sofia finally stated as she set her pen down. "Chef André is overly protective of his Wassailia treats. Even _James_ didn't manage to sneak a cookie yesterday."

"That's unusual," Cedric laughed. "Are you finished with your assignment?"

"Yeah… Well, it wasn't necessarily an 'assignment.' I guess it's more like a 'to-do list' or something…"

The sorcerer frowned as he noticed his apprentice's spacy look. "Sofia, are you all right? You've been rather out of it the last hour or so." He hummed thoughtfully as she glanced up at him. "Actually, come to think of it, the last few months have been somewhat like that as well." His frown faded into a more concerned look. "What's going on?"

Sofia considered her options. Amber knew more than anyone about her role as a Protector at this point. In fact, she also knew about her role as Story Keeper… Add that to the keeper of the Amulet of Avalor and a princess, and truthfully, her metaphorical résumé was already much longer than anyone else's her age. Still, Amber understood her sister's need to keep this a secret, because of the sheer uncertainty and sometimes danger that she could put herself in… Prisma, for example, was a tough enough challenge to face. If her parents knew what she'd been up against, they'd likely never let her leave the castle again. She'd been lucky they hadn't reacted too strongly to the amulet issue with Elena; then again, the Avaloran princess speaking on her behalf had certainly helped a lot.

Cedric wasn't much different. He'd been _her_ protector on more than one occasion, and he obviously cared about her wellbeing, so keeping this particular secret from him was really hard for Sofia. Still, she couldn't elaborate on anything just yet. She had to keep that secret for now… However, some advice might be beneficial for her, so how could she possibly go about doing so?

The princess smiled thoughtfully. "Well, Mr. Cedric… I actually _could_ use some advice, if you're up to it."

He smiled in relief. He was used to her requiring advice and help when she was younger, so it was a nice feeling to hear he was still needed. "Certainly. What dilemma do you need help with now?"

"I guess it's not so much a 'dilemma' as it is…" She paused and considered her words. If she gave too little away, she'd never get the advice she craved. If she gave too much away, Cedric would be more anxious and worried than her parents would, especially since he'd understand the underlying danger she'd managed to get herself into the last few months. So, she decided on a method. "Okay, hypothetically… Say I go up against a really powerful person who knows and uses magic really well. What are my chances of taking that person down?"

Cedric gave her a surprised look. "Sofia?"

"It's just hypothetical, Mr. Cedric… Just humor me, okay?" She smiled disarmingly, causing him to calm down a bit. "What would I need to do?"

"You would need to make sure you had the correct resources, first of all. Depending upon how 'powerful' said person is, you'll either need to have strong enough magic to counteract the person, or have the negotiation skills to talk the person out of any attacks." He made a face. "You know, like me, I guess."

She laughed softly and nodded. "It was different with you though… I _knew_ I could get through to you. I had faith in you." She glanced down at her hands. "I can't exactly say the same for some of these…challengers."

"Are you talking about Grimtrix?" he asked decisively. "Because if you are, just know _I'm_ going to be there to help you take _him_ down. You needn't worry about that."

Sofia shrugged thoughtfully as she nodded. "I just mean… Well, it's not just Grimtrix who's a threat anymore, Mr. Cedric. I have a lot of enemies now: more than I realized." She folded her arms against the table and rested her head on them. "I just want to make sure I'm strong enough to stand against them."

He frowned. "Are we still pretending we're being 'hypothetical' here?"

Blue eyes turned to meet concerned brown ones, and the princess smiled softly. "I wish we were, Mr. Cedric…" She sighed decisively as she sat up straight. "I only want to protect you guys."

"That's not something you have to do alone though. It never has been. You want my advice? Just be Sofia. It's done wonders for you so far."

She giggled and nodded before blinking as he placed one hand on hers.

"If you _ever_ need my help, you call on me. I don't care what it is or what time it is or anything of that matter." He glanced away as she stared at him in surprise. "After what you did for me, I think it's the least I could do."

Sofia sighed with a smile before turning her hand over to clasp his, getting his attention. "You'll likely be the first one I come to… I know I'm keeping a lot from you right now, but just know that I have a reason… I promise I'll let you know when I need you."

He gave her a smile. "You had better." He glanced toward the door once before smirking back at his apprentice. "Perhaps we should go check on Wormy to make sure he doesn't get captured trying to steal those tarts, eh?"

The princess laughed. "Yeah. Oh, and…thanks for listening, Mr. Cedric."

"Any time."

The end


End file.
